Making Room For Sweets!

I made a HUGE connection today. My counselor has told me several times to just make sweets a part of my food plan, but that seemed like a failure somehow. Lately I've been obsessed with Pop Tarts, that kind of awful obsessing that makes you miserable. So today I added sweets to my diary--one of my meals is blocked off for sweets. Now they will be a part of my food plan, every day. I have one of my slots blocked off so the Pop Tarts (or Honeybun or Ice Cream or Hershey Pie or Swiss Rolls or Donuts) are already planned. I don't even have to think about it. I already feel better.

Replies

  • llbrixon
    llbrixon Posts: 964 Member
    That is what I do! Icecream everyday if I want it. Calories are already figured in each day.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    Yeah i always save calories for my night muches XD
  • bellabonbons
    bellabonbons Posts: 705 Member
    Your counselor is right! All experts agree that if we go into the denial mode we won't last long. We must include all of the foods we enjoy while dieting. This is the beauty of counting calories!
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    Yes, but I've never blocked off a whole meal for it! I was always fiddling with my diary trying to make room. Now my sweet has it own special place!
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
    WOOT! Congrats on the breakthrough!
    That's why I have my sweet creamer in my coffee every morning. I don't need to spend all day obsessing over wanting something sweet and being disappointed that my coffee wasn't the way I like it. Life is too short to deny ourselves something that we enjoy. We just have to plan for it and maybe eat a bit less of it than we used to.
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    Thanks, skinnyforhi! I feel so much better. I also learned a new technique to help me deal with obsessive thoughts about food, and everything else. I have already started putting it to good use.
  • rnurse82
    rnurse82 Posts: 94 Member
    Yes, but I've never blocked off a whole meal for it! I was always fiddling with my diary trying to make room. Now my sweet has it own special place!

    I always just add these to my SNACK section, is there a way to make a section for SWEETS?? Do tell!
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    Giving up a whole meal for sweets? Don't get me wrong, whatever works for you, but from a nutritional point of view, what's the difference between that and only eating 1000 calories?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    She didn't say she was giving up a whole meal. She said she was including them as a category in her food diary.

    I think you can have up to 6 categories and name them what you like. Mine are named after the time of day.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    "one of my meals is blocked off for sweets. Now they will be a part of my food plan, every day."
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    rnurse82 wrote: »
    Yes, but I've never blocked off a whole meal for it! I was always fiddling with my diary trying to make room. Now my sweet has it own special place!

    I always just add these to my SNACK section, is there a way to make a section for SWEETS?? Do tell!

    You can customize food sections - Settings> Diary Settings> Meal Names. I have one for Emergency Chocolate.

    I've always had sweets/desserts in my diet. I learned from my first attempt to lose weight that I'm not the type of person who can cut out a whole food group. I ate up a dozen bakery shortbread cookies one afternoon after not having had a Naughty Food in a month. People comment that I shouldn't have dessert or sweets so often. It doesn't work for me. I reached my GW eating what I want, desserts included.

    As for Pop-Tarts, I can't find any I like. Use to be able to get PB ones, but all the types now have that frosting on them.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited May 2016
    "one of my meals is blocked off for sweets. Now they will be a part of my food plan, every day."

    People refer to their 6 entries as "meals" quite often. I didn't read her as saying she was going to have a whole main meal (like lunch) of sweets, but simply plan to have something daily and use the label to tell herself it was fine. (Which it is -- many people can fit in sweets and still have a nutrient-dense and balanced diet.)
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Giving up a whole meal for sweets? Don't get me wrong, whatever works for you, but from a nutritional point of view, what's the difference between that and only eating 1000 calories?

    Even if OP is giving up an entire meal for sweets (which I don't read her as saying), even sweets have macro- and micro-nutrients (as well as calories). There is a difference between eating just 1,000 calories and eating to your calorie goal and including some sweets. Your body can use the energy in sweets and it can use the nutrients. It can't use the energy or nutrients in a meal that you skip.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    zyxst wrote: »
    rnurse82 wrote: »
    Yes, but I've never blocked off a whole meal for it! I was always fiddling with my diary trying to make room. Now my sweet has it own special place!

    I always just add these to my SNACK section, is there a way to make a section for SWEETS?? Do tell!

    You can customize food sections - Settings> Diary Settings> Meal Names. I have one for Emergency Chocolate.

    I've always had sweets/desserts in my diet. I learned from my first attempt to lose weight that I'm not the type of person who can cut out a whole food group. I ate up a dozen bakery shortbread cookies one afternoon after not having had a Naughty Food in a month. People comment that I shouldn't have dessert or sweets so often. It doesn't work for me. I reached my GW eating what I want, desserts included.

    As for Pop-Tarts, I can't find any I like. Use to be able to get PB ones, but all the types now have that frosting on them.

    Ha! I love this!

    Congrats, OP. I love the attitude!
  • rnurse82
    rnurse82 Posts: 94 Member
    zyxst wrote: »
    rnurse82 wrote: »
    Yes, but I've never blocked off a whole meal for it! I was always fiddling with my diary trying to make room. Now my sweet has it own special place!

    I always just add these to my SNACK section, is there a way to make a section for SWEETS?? Do tell!

    You can customize food sections - Settings> Diary Settings> Meal Names. I have one for Emergency Chocolate.

    I've always had sweets/desserts in my diet. I learned from my first attempt to lose weight that I'm not the type of person who can cut out a whole food group. I ate up a dozen bakery shortbread cookies one afternoon after not having had a Naughty Food in a month. People comment that I shouldn't have dessert or sweets so often. It doesn't work for me. I reached my GW eating what I want, desserts included.

    As for Pop-Tarts, I can't find any I like. Use to be able to get PB ones, but all the types now have that frosting on them.

    I dont have this option in there. Maybe it is a paid for options? I'm a free user.
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    I didn't know what term to use, so I used "meal." I suppose "slot" or "category" would have been better.

    I have my diary set up like this--

    Breakfast, Smoothie, Lunch, Sweet, Supper, Noshing

    Seeing the Sweet right there, gives me a very free feeling. And I want my Smoothie, which is how I get my veggies and fruit (digestive disorder), to be nonnegotiable.
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    zyxst wrote: »
    rnurse82 wrote: »
    Yes, but I've never blocked off a whole meal for it! I was always fiddling with my diary trying to make room. Now my sweet has it own special place!

    I always just add these to my SNACK section, is there a way to make a section for SWEETS?? Do tell!

    You can customize food sections - Settings> Diary Settings> Meal Names. I have one for Emergency Chocolate.

    I've always had sweets/desserts in my diet. I learned from my first attempt to lose weight that I'm not the type of person who can cut out a whole food group. I ate up a dozen bakery shortbread cookies one afternoon after not having had a Naughty Food in a month. People comment that I shouldn't have dessert or sweets so often. It doesn't work for me. I reached my GW eating what I want, desserts included.

    As for Pop-Tarts, I can't find any I like. Use to be able to get PB ones, but all the types now have that frosting on them.

    Ha! I love this!

    Congrats, OP. I love the attitude!

    You can find un-frosted ones here in Chattanooga. Maybe order online? The best really--Grape Un-frosted Pop Tarts toasted, slathered with your favorite butter, sugar sprinkled on top. I seriously love sweets.
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    Giving up a whole meal for sweets? Don't get me wrong, whatever works for you, but from a nutritional point of view, what's the difference between that and only eating 1000 calories?

    I would never starve myself. I have just entered maintenance and I get a LOT of calories--2,050. I have no problem using 400, or even 600 calories for a sweet. I suspect that I will eventually grow tired of Pop Tarts and move on to something else.
  • StacyChrz
    StacyChrz Posts: 865 Member
    Good for you, I have some kind of chocolate almost every day. I make room for it in my snacks and it really helps. I have a much easier time avoiding binges when I know that I can eat the things I enjoy any day I want. As long as it's a reasonable portion.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    rnurse82 wrote: »
    zyxst wrote: »
    rnurse82 wrote: »
    Yes, but I've never blocked off a whole meal for it! I was always fiddling with my diary trying to make room. Now my sweet has it own special place!

    I always just add these to my SNACK section, is there a way to make a section for SWEETS?? Do tell!

    You can customize food sections - Settings> Diary Settings> Meal Names. I have one for Emergency Chocolate.

    I've always had sweets/desserts in my diet. I learned from my first attempt to lose weight that I'm not the type of person who can cut out a whole food group. I ate up a dozen bakery shortbread cookies one afternoon after not having had a Naughty Food in a month. People comment that I shouldn't have dessert or sweets so often. It doesn't work for me. I reached my GW eating what I want, desserts included.

    As for Pop-Tarts, I can't find any I like. Use to be able to get PB ones, but all the types now have that frosting on them.

    I dont have this option in there. Maybe it is a paid for options? I'm a free user.

    Are you on the app or using the website? I'm a free user and I can find it on the website.
  • ekat120
    ekat120 Posts: 407 Member
    rnurse82 wrote: »
    zyxst wrote: »
    rnurse82 wrote: »
    Yes, but I've never blocked off a whole meal for it! I was always fiddling with my diary trying to make room. Now my sweet has it own special place!

    I always just add these to my SNACK section, is there a way to make a section for SWEETS?? Do tell!

    You can customize food sections - Settings> Diary Settings> Meal Names. I have one for Emergency Chocolate.

    I've always had sweets/desserts in my diet. I learned from my first attempt to lose weight that I'm not the type of person who can cut out a whole food group. I ate up a dozen bakery shortbread cookies one afternoon after not having had a Naughty Food in a month. People comment that I shouldn't have dessert or sweets so often. It doesn't work for me. I reached my GW eating what I want, desserts included.

    As for Pop-Tarts, I can't find any I like. Use to be able to get PB ones, but all the types now have that frosting on them.

    I dont have this option in there. Maybe it is a paid for options? I'm a free user.

    I'm a free user and can change mine. It's under the "Settings" menu (on the web version, not sure about the app)--scroll down to "Meal Names"

    I might need to make a sweets section, too!
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    StacyChrz wrote: »
    Good for you, I have some kind of chocolate almost every day. I make room for it in my snacks and it really helps. I have a much easier time avoiding binges when I know that I can eat the things I enjoy any day I want. As long as it's a reasonable portion.

    The big thing for me though, is that I was obsessing every day about how to fit sweets into my calorie budget. I am prune to obsessive rumination, as my therapist calls it. By adding it as a category, I can look at Sweet, plug in an option, and be done. And I learned a very important thing in session yesterday--Now that I've made this choice, each time my brain gets on the rat track of sweet obsession I can nip it in the bud with one simple phrase--"No. You've already done that. You've made a Choice."

    In this way I'm giving myself the structure and limits that I never learned from my mother or father. I'm also reinforcing the fact that I am in control, not the food.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    I apologize for misunderstanding. I also eat chocolate every.single.day. no question. I often forget that not everyone is at the same setting as I am. To lose one pound a week I am set at 1200 and I forget that other people get a little more wiggle room.
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,069 Member
    An unfrosted strawberry poptart smothered in butter. Oh man, I haven't had one in years! Curse you for making me think about it! LOL

    In all seriousness, I tend to include at least one sweet/semi-junk food per day (more on the weekends). I try to substitute as much as possible to make it slightly more healthy. Like Artic Zero, Halo Top or Enlightened for ice cream. Chips and salsa is another weakness. I love salsa mixed with cream cheese as a dip. Now, I mix it with greek yogurt and a scoop of protein powder. Pure protein bar instead of a candy bar, Quest protein chips instead of lays.
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    rnurse82 wrote: »
    zyxst wrote: »
    rnurse82 wrote: »
    Yes, but I've never blocked off a whole meal for it! I was always fiddling with my diary trying to make room. Now my sweet has it own special place!

    I always just add these to my SNACK section, is there a way to make a section for SWEETS?? Do tell!

    You can customize food sections - Settings> Diary Settings> Meal Names. I have one for Emergency Chocolate.

    I've always had sweets/desserts in my diet. I learned from my first attempt to lose weight that I'm not the type of person who can cut out a whole food group. I ate up a dozen bakery shortbread cookies one afternoon after not having had a Naughty Food in a month. People comment that I shouldn't have dessert or sweets so often. It doesn't work for me. I reached my GW eating what I want, desserts included.

    As for Pop-Tarts, I can't find any I like. Use to be able to get PB ones, but all the types now have that frosting on them.

    I dont have this option in there. Maybe it is a paid for options? I'm a free user.

    Are you on the app or using the website? I'm a free user and I can find it on the website.

    I pay for the premium. It's very worth it for me. But oddly, some things are easier on the app, and some things are easier online. I use both.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    I added prunes as my last bit of food each day. They are sweet enough to be candy.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    That's AWESOME! :)

    When you fight against something, it takes up a lot of your energy and mind, and creates extra stress. If you work with it instead of fighting it, the stress gets eliminated. I prefer to live this way, instead of fooling myself and ending up in 'secret' binge 'meetings'.
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    An unfrosted strawberry poptart smothered in butter. Oh man, I haven't had one in years! Curse you for making me think about it! LOL

    In all seriousness, I tend to include at least one sweet/semi-junk food per day (more on the weekends). I try to substitute as much as possible to make it slightly more healthy. Like Artic Zero, Halo Top or Enlightened for ice cream. Chips and salsa is another weakness. I love salsa mixed with cream cheese as a dip. Now, I mix it with greek yogurt and a scoop of protein powder. Pure protein bar instead of a candy bar, Quest protein chips instead of lays.

    I eat Luna Protein bars or Protein Pleasure Macrobars. I don't do a lot of substitutions, but I do use Truvia in my smoothies because I like them really sweet. I like Eddy's Slow Churned Ice Cream which has fewer calories and I never buy premium ice cream like Ben and Jerry's because I don't need to. I like the regular calorie ice creams better. My big weakness is pastry and I tend to avoid them. I currently have a romance going with Burger King Hershey Pie, but it's under 400 calories so I consider it a bargain!